Passions

Software as a service (SaaS). Two years doing Superstorm Sandy Recovery work with the City of New York showed me how simple, easy-to-use software can speed up work, improve quality, and drastically cut costs. Why constantly reinvent the wheel when proven, relatively cheap wheels are at your disposal? I preach SaaS, and some of my favorite gospels are Salesforce and Quickbase.

Public policy, globally and locally. In my high school graduation speech, I said, "If we are not led by the best of the best, we will be led by the worst of the worst." A bit hyperbolic, yes, but especially considering our current political realities, we have to both demand the best public officials and the best public policies. No matter certain individuals' libertarian fantasies, government is a necessity (see: lack of government) and fundamentally shapes our daily lives for better or worse. We all must be engaged.

The Americas, all of them. From Chile to Canada, the countries of the Americas represent the future: multicultural, unwarlike (exempting the U.S.), and (unfortunately) unequal. Melting pots of indigenous peoples, descendants of African slaves and European colonizers, and immigrants from all over the world, the Americas show the rest of the world that individuals of different backgrounds can live side by side peacefully, borrowing from each others' cultures and creating truly unique societies (and food). Moreover, with one notable country exception and one ten-week conflict, the Americas do not fight wars (in the past 100 years) and have even voluntarily ceased the pursuit of nuclear weapons in favor of cooperation on nuclear energy. As for the glaring inequality of the Americas, it's a relic of historical power structures exacerbated by free markets and automation, and the lack of economic opportunities has created a space for drug trafficking and drug violence to thrive. Yet the rightfully famous example of Bolsa Família in Brazil proves how governments can reverse inequality and poverty through direct cash transfers even as profits increasingly go to the few able to best leverage technology.